Dianne Feinstein Assault Weapons Ban is "Racist"

Wayne LaPierre isn't the only high-ranking NRA official ruffling feathers these days.

On a Thursday interview on NRA News, former National Rifle Association president Marion Hammer compared Senator Dianne Feinstein's proposed assault weapons ban to racism. Hammer claimed that like legislation targeted against weaponry, legislation targeted against people of color, is "because of the way they look."

During the broadcast, host Ginny Simone and Hammer argued that Feinstein's ban was unworkable. Simone (incorrectly) alleged that even supporters of the ban had admitted it was a ruse, stating they "admit this is about banning the ugliest guns, it's about cosmetics and it has nothing to do about how a firearm works."

Hammer concurred: "Well, you know, banning people and things because of the way they look went out a long time ago … but here they are again. The color of a gun. The way it looks. It's just bad politics."

Feinstein announced she would seek to re-implement a stricter Federal Assault Weapons Ban following the July 2012 Aurora, Colorado shootings which killed 12 and wounded 58. The proposed legislation bans over 120 specifically named weapons, magazines with a capacity exceeding ten rounds, and those with assault characteristics (the same ones deemed "cosmetic" by the NRA), albeit with provisions for "grandfathering in" currently owned weapons. She doubled down on her position following the Newtown, Connecticut shootings that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six teachers.

Hammer's opposition to Feinstein's legislation is the norm among NRA members. After the shootings, current NRA President Wayne LaPierre gave an angry speech that PR Week called "fateful," describing it as "missing a critical opportunity to credibly position themselves and their agenda."

Others have been even more blunt in their anger towards Feinstein's proposals. Former Marine Joshua Bolton wrote a letter to Feinstein, in which he harshly opposed firearms legislation and reminder her that "I am not your servant."